A loss to the Penguins in Game 2 on Wednesday in Pittsburgh could effectively sink the San Jose Sharks.
Since entering the NHL in 1991-92, the Sharks have never won a Stanley Cup Playoff series in which they've lost the opening two games, going 0-10 in that situation.
And in this history of the Final, a team that has lost the first two games has lost the series 44 of 49 times.
"You never want to go down 2-0 in a series," Sharks goalie Martin Jones said Tuesday, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. "Whether you lose the first game, any game, you never want to lose two in a row in playoffs.
"That sense of urgency is going to be important for us."
The Sharks did have the NHL's best road record this past regular season (28-10-3), and have lost back-to-back games only once this postseason, Games 3 and 4 against the Predators, both of which were played in Nashville.
The last team to fall behind 0-2 and win the Cup was the Boston Bruins in 2011. They dropped Games 1 and 2 in Vancouver against the Canucks, then won all three games at home and came out on top in Game 7 as the visiting team.
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